Random Rants LIII: F My Life

[Cutlass]

University of Connecticut is in the NCAA final 4. What's the news talking about? Riot control.

 

[Takhisis]

That's better than the recent spate of mobbings of purported criminals happening here.

 

[sophie]

So I'm curious, this seems to imply that in the US you have complete freedom to take whatever classes you want at college. That's not the case in Australia; in one of my degrees I have no electives, but a small amount of choice as to what courses I take for my major (there are four options, I have to do three of them). In the other, I have no choice at all until the last year, when it's all electives. There's also gateway subjects that can be a complete waste of time in themselves, but necessary to do before you can take second or third level courses. So it'd be entirely possible to have to take classes that really suck and are of very limited interest or value.

Depends on the major, I suppose. As a history major, I had a great deal of leeway in classes I could take. Even in GenEds though, our school had a great deal of freedom. You were only constrained by whether classes gave you credit in the GE, but even then I got to choose between a good 6-7 different classes I got to pick out the ones that particularly interested me.

Even still for majors like Bio and Chem where you are literally told which classes you have to take, there is the assumption that you're taking that major because it's at least interesting or valuable to you on some level, so, presumably, you'd still have an interest in excelling in the class.

 

[madviking]

for chemical engineering, it's a very rigid curriculum but we still have an average of one elective (of some sort) per semester.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Depends on the major, I suppose. As a history major, I had a great deal of leeway in classes I could take. Even in GenEds though, our school had a great deal of freedom. You were only constrained by whether classes gave you credit in the GE, but even then I got to choose between a good 6-7 different classes I got to pick out the ones that particularly interested me.

Even still for majors like Bio and Chem where you are literally told which classes you have to take, there is the assumption that you're taking that major because it's at least interesting or valuable to you on some level, so, presumably, you'd still have an interest in excelling in the class.

History majors ftw


At my uni at least indeed the history major was and is extremely flexible. Rather than "you must take class 1, class 9, and class 666", it was rather something like "you must take class 5, then any class between 40-100, and two classes between 539-666". I suspect the other humanities and many of the social science majors were similar. I'm also an international studies major, and it's an interdisciplinary big blob major, and though it's deceptively flexible - i.e. "you can take any classes in this category" - the problem is as an interdisciplinary major sometimes a lot of those classes aren't available so you're effectively limited in what you can take anyways.


Anyhow the impression I've gotten from my friends in schools all over is that the STEM majors are a bit more constrained - not too constrained, mind you, usually, but there is less flexibility.

 

[GenMarshall]

I feel like I'm going no where in my search for a better job .

 

[ReindeerThistle]

I feel like I'm going no where in my search for a better job .

I've been meaning to visit the "Careers without College" Group, but all of my forum time is spent on Tapatalk, which doesn't do groups, AFAIK... but, lemme start by saying that the US job market is in the toilet. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2013, only 64% of the American working aged population is actually employeed. Of those, only 6 of y aged 16-24 are either IN school or.working, and 1 in 7 (5.8 million) are both unemployed and not in school.

As a working-aged person you are competing with members of the 36% for the same class of jobs (few and far between).

That said, you don't need to despair about your personal situation... there are jobs... but you must be willing to take risks and stand out as an excellent worker to get what you want -- or at least what you NEED in order to advance.

Chin up.

 

[Antilogic]

Whelp, I'm an old man now. The only candy in my apartment is a pack of soft caramel chews.

 

[Angst]

clinically insane

 

[Kennigit]

Time for like 7 all nighters in a row.

 

[azzaman333]

Time for like 7 all nighters in a row.

What's due in a week?

 

[Kennigit]

a term paper and miscellaneous work

 

[Phrossack]

All movements go too far.

 

[madviking]

then stop moving

 

[cybrxkhan]

Change! It'll move mountains! It'll mount movements!

 

[JohannaK]

clinically insane

Wow. That's pretty... interesting, actually. Aside from worrying, I guess. Does that mean they will put you in a mental asylum or something?

 

[The_J]

Whelp, I'm an old man now. The only candy in my apartment is a pack of soft caramel chews.

You've turned 30 ?

clinically insane

Welcome to the club :/.

 

[GenMarshall]

That said, you don't need to despair about your personal situation... there are jobs... but you must be willing to take risks and stand out as an excellent worker to get what you want -- or at least what you NEED in order to advance.

I'm just frustrated that I'm being turned down, both in applying in other jobs as well as applying internally. Plus there's a cloud of uncertainty of potential layoffs within my department that does not help. I don't know, I may have to include local government jobs within the towns in my area.

 

[Antilogic]

You've turned 30 ?

Heh, not quite yet.

But I gotta say, Faux News makes a little more sense with a bit of caramel chew. I also have the urge to yell at kids to stay off my lawn, but I live in an apartment.

 

[Farm Boy]

Heh, not quite yet.

But I gotta say, Faux News makes a little more sense with a bit of caramel chew. I also have the urge to yell at kids to stay off my lawn, but I live in an apartment.

Crap, if you're there now, then imagine where you are going to be at 40! Upgraded to Worther's Originals and cough drops in your glass candy dish standing on the porch with your shotgun wearing nothing but a pair of tighty-whiteys.